Shinar of the Blemmyes
'Physiology' The origin of the headless Blemmyes has been a matter of controversy for some time. Modern anthropoligists variously describe them as a sister race to the dwarves, or an offshoot of the dark-haired race of men common to the equatorial deserts of this world. The Blemmyes themselves see this as tantamount to blasphemy, holding themselves as the unique descendents of their sun god Utu-Abam. Regardless of their ancestral affinity, it is clear that at some point in the past a great arcane calamity befell their race – perhaps the same which transformed their lush jungles into bleached desert – leaving them stunted and headless, with faces set in their chests. That they once had heads is attested not only by their own mythology, but also their reliance on Kishpu sorcery to bind their souls to effigy heads which they carry on their shoulders. Should this 'head' ever be removed, the Blemmye will fall into a comatose state and soon waste away to death. Above Right: ''Utusag ('Sunhead') priest and Duggaesag ('Leadhead') drudge'' 'Geography' The Land of Shinar is situated in a desert basin in the northwest of the central continent. Bounded by stony highlands on all sides, this desert, referred to as The Womb of Sands by the natives, is among the most inhospitable and barren regions of this world. Here Blemmye civilization maintains a tenuous existence clustered around the Pillars of the Sun, great sandstone towers with living waters trapped deep in their roots. Once a paradise of jungle and wetland, the dunes of Shinar now simmer and crack under the loving gaze of the sun-father Utu-Abam. Right: The Pillars of the Sun in the eastern basin of the Womb of Sands Central to Blemmye religion is the sandstone tower Hursagmu. Here in cliffside alcoves practitioners of Kishpu tend to the graves of their ancestors and beseech them for their blessings. At the top of the mesa grows an ancient garden where Utu-Abam is believed to have thrown his head into the sky, and where lies the sacred well in which his decapitated body was washed for burial. The E’Saharishi ziggurat sits at its base, housing the monks and mages of Shinar alongside their libraries and breweries. Right: The great ziggurat of E'Saharishi and the Gate of the Setting (Babu Sakanu) at the base of Hursagmu 'Mythology' In the most ancient of days, when the light of creation faded from the sky and the first night covered the land, the great hero Utu-Abam looked upon the faces of his children and saw that they were afraid. Having instructed them in the ways of civilization and prudence, he removed his head and cast it high into the sky, blessing the earth with light and warmth. The mother of Utu-Abam’s children, Nanna-Ummum, soon sunk into loneliness and died. Honoring their mother, the children of Utu-Abam removed her head and worked a great sorcery upon it, binding her soul to it and fixing it in the heavens alongside their father’s glowing visage. They made a compact among themselves, and cast their own heads into the heavens to rest as stars between their mother, the moon, and their father, the sun. Today the descendants of the children of Utu-Abam bear the mark of their forefathers – a headless race with faces fixed proudly in their chests, they carry effigy heads on their shoulders in honor of their ancestors. Living in a hostile and desolate land, they build their cities around and within the Pillars of the Sun, natural sandstone towers capped with great temples and forbidden gardens. Deep in the roots of the mountains well the sacred waters with which they bless their honored dead, whom their wisemen beseech for power in their traditional Kishpu sorcery. Ruled over by the high priest of Utu-Abam, the Utusag (‘Sunhead’), the ancient land of Shinar can no longer exist isolated from the Zusag (‘Fleshheads’) of the surrounding lands. 'Culture' The Blemmyes maintain a superstitious fascination with heads, collecting the heads of enemies as a display of wealth and power or sanctifying them to their honored ancestors. It is not uncommon for a visiting diplomat to be offered the gift of an important priest's head, or for a Blemmye merchant in foreign lands to offer a considerable sum for the purchase of another's head. After all, with the proper rituals a Blemmye may exchange one head for another, though it is fatal to be unbound for too long. The gift of a head is a great honor: Blemmye society is highly stratified, and one's caste is indicated by the effigy head carried on his shoulders – the more elaborate the design or valuable the material, the higher position he holds. If a member of a lower caste receives a head indicating higher position, it is tantamount to promotion to that caste. The golden age of their civilization has long since passed, and their settlements now lie isolated from the world and each other. Many of the greatest works of their culture now moulder under the sands, and what is left of their heritage is jealously guarded in hidden chambers by the monks of E'Saharishi. As time goes by, their ancient places become sacred, and their sacred places forbidden, until eventually only the shifting sands may be tread without blasphemy. Category:Old